1958 Topps #17 Felix Mantilla
About Felix Mantilla
Card #17 is a first-series 1958 Topps issue showing Mantilla with the Milwaukee Braves. It reports his 1957, when the 22-year-old utility man played 71 games, hit .236 with four home runs and 21 RBI, and earned a spot on manager Fred Haney's roster. In the World Series over the Yankees he went hitless in ten at-bats, yet started the last two games at second base for an injured Red Schoendienst as Milwaukee won in seven.
Felix Mantilla, called El Gato, the Cat, for his agility, was born July 29, 1934, in Isabela, Puerto Rico, and was playing organized ball there by age nine. He was on the Puerto Rican team that won the 1951 Amateur World Series, signed with the Boston Braves in 1952 for a $400 bonus, and in 1953 joined Hank Aaron and Horace Garner in integrating the Jacksonville Braves of the South Atlantic League, where the three shared a home in a segregated city and were booed for their color. He debuted with Milwaukee on June 21, 1956, and over eleven seasons played every position but pitcher and catcher. He won the 1957 World Series and returned to the Series in 1958. On May 26, 1959, he led off the thirteenth inning by reaching on Don Hoak's throwing error, ending Harvey Haddix's twelve perfect innings, then scored the winning run on Joe Adcock's drive. He finished at .261 with 89 home runs and 330 RBI, helped found the Felix Mantilla Little League in Milwaukee in 1972, and was inducted into the Puerto Rico Sports Hall of Fame. He died January 10, 2025, at 90.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball Almanac · Retrosheet
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 227 | 0 | 8 | 56 | 79 | 44 | 23 | 17 | 0 |
| SGC | 19 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Snapshot 2026-07-09. Half-grades fold down (8.5→8). PSA counts are straight-graded (the +/Q qualifier rows are excluded).
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Related cards
More Milwaukee Braves cards:
- #10 Lou Burdette
- #30 Hank Aaron
- #30B Hank Aaron (Yellow Name)
- #51 Del Rice
- #78 Ernie Johnson
- #78B Ernie Johnson (Yellow Name)
- #83 Bob Hazle
- #110 Johnny Logan
- #117 Frank Torre
- #140 Wes Covington
- #147 Don McMahon
- #164 Bob Taylor
- #176 Bob Buhl
- #190 Red Schoendienst
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1958 Topps Felix Mantilla card?
It is card #17 of the 1958 Topps Baseball set - Topps' sixth flagship issue: 494 cards numbered 1-495 (#145 was never issued), with die-cut player photos on solid-color backgrounds and the first team logos on Topps fronts. It pictures Felix Mantilla, Milwaukee Braves.
How many graded copies of the 1958 Topps Felix Mantilla #17 are there?
PSA has graded 227 copies and SGC 19 as of the 2026-07-09 snapshot. Population is a scarcity guide, not a price - high-grade 1958s are notoriously tough because of the set's chronic centering and print-quality issues.
How many cards are in the 1958 Topps set?
494 issued cards, numbered 1-495 - #145 (Ed Bouchee) was pulled before release and never issued, leaving a permanent gap. The PSA master census counts 534 items: the 494 base cards plus 33 yellow-letter variations, 4 numerical checklist-back team cards, the 'Herrer' #433 error, and 2 unnumbered ad cards.
Sources: PSA CardFacts, Beckett, BaseballCardPedia, Baseball-Reference, PSA & SGC population reports, and hobby press-sheet research (Topps Archives, 2026). Card data compiled and maintained by T206Cards.com. Page last updated 2026-09-30.